BOSTON – There might not have been a coming-of-age walk through the desert that showed Brad Marchand the right way to play his role in the NHL, but there were plenty of skates to the penalty box for him to contemplate his future.

Now in his first full season with the Bruins after a couple years spent mostly trying to perfect his peskiness in the American Hockey League, it seems Marchand’s maturity is as much of an asset to his team as his speed, hands and – of course – ability to make players want to get at him like Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner.

Marchand played a huge role in the Bruins’ 5-2 win over the New York Islanders tonight at TD Garden, with the shorthanded goal that put Boston up 2-1 late in the second period. The score tied him for the league lead in shorthanded tallies with three.

However, more telling about how far the 5-foot-9 Marchand has come from his days sparking bench-clearing brawls with the Providence farm club and putting Boston in shorthanded situations rather than drawing them in his first cup of coffee with the parent club came earlier in the second period.

As Marchand carried the puck into the Islanders end, defenseman Jack Hillen skated over from the Bruins winger’s side and upended Marchand with a low hit and some skate-on-skate contact that sent Marchand head over heels. The Bruins maintained possession of the puck, and Marchand got up, dusted himself and headed for the net.

In the past, a hit like Hillen’s might’ve been cause for a self-defeating bit of retaliation.

“I might’ve done something stupid after that before. … Most of the time, I might’ve given him a crosscheck or a slash back. But I’ve got to get away from that stuff,” said Marchand after the game.

Defenseman Adam McQuaid has been Marchand’s teammate in Boston and Providence for a few years. He has witnessed the change in Marchand.

“I think that is just his maturity and his experience,” said the blueliner. “I think he’s learned from past experiences. When you’re a first-year play, you have to make sure that if you draw a penalty that you’re not retaliating.”

According to stats compiled by the Web site Behind the Net, Marchand this season has drawn one penalty per 60 minutes and been called for one penalty per 60 minutes. However, when you factor in the couple borderline calls that went against him – some because of the reputation that preceded him from the AHL to the NHL, and part because of just a call being missed – Marchand is ahead of the game.

That’s what Boston hoped for him not just when he showed up for training camp this season, but when the Bruins drafted Marchand with a third-round pick back in ’06. They knew they were importing a hell-raiser with ability.

Sure, there are still times that head coach Claude Julien has to pull back Marchand’s reins. And the Nova Scotia native says that there are times the referees let him off with a warning. There were times in the past though that that might not have been enough to keep Marchand from letting his temper and pig-in-slop love for causing a ruckus win out over what was best for him and his team.

The Bruins showed faith in Marchand from the outset this season. Julien and his staff encouraged Marchand to muck it up and they used him on the penalty kill and in key defensive situations from Day One. He’s rewarded them not just with production, but maturity.

“pk’s more fun to watch than the pp. now get brad a real number.”
Haha, great quote.

I’ve always loved Marchand’s game. He’s a little dude with a huge heart. His game is contagious.

I know I hate the shit-talkers who won’t back it up, but I still get a good kick out of seeing him look up and chirp somebody a half-foot taller, then watch Thornton and Campbell circle the situation like vultures, just hoping they get a reason to step in. For some reason, they rarely do haha…

It reminds me of Looney Tunes cartoons where Tweety thinks he’s tough, standing up to Sylvester, but we all can see the real reason is because Hector The Bulldog has Tweety’s back.

Before the season Matt, you wrote an column that mentioned the possibility of Marchand making the club; and you liked what he could potentially bring to the team. Quite a few people commented about how little faith they had in Marchy, and how him being a pest would cause trouble for the team… to those people, I now say, “how do you like THEM apples?”

This kid has done nothing but impress so far. He’s embraced his role as an energy guy; he’s small and relatively inexperienced, but he’s created a lot of chances for himself with his speed, stickhandling, and 200% EFFORT on every shift. This is how every Bruin should play: with the wholehearted faith that effort will create more opportunities than relying on talent. Every. Single. Time.

I wish NESN replayed his shorty in real speed instead of slow-mo. He friggin’ took off and got up to top speed really quick. Watching the play develop I was shocked at how fast he got to top speed and how fast his top speed actually is! It was a really nice play all around.

Marchand is the most exciting Bruin so far (except for TT). He has some great wheels, fast and tenacious, stickhandles pretty well and has a great sense of hockey. Another great goal for the kid last night.
I still think he looks like a grown up Brick from the series The Middle. LOL!
I know he´s playing great on the fourth but I wish he could get a chance on a second line just to see how it goes.

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I saw him down in Providence a few times the last couple years, and he was the type of player that caught your eye as soon as he was on the ice. Great wheels and always in the middle of everything. I was starting to wonder if he could translate his game to stay with the big boys, but lately he’s hitting every bit of the potential that he was showing in PVD. Great to see.

I have to admit, when Marchand made the team I was worried. I didn’t want a Sean Avery/Steve Ott type of player who played a little dirty, got under people’s skin, and tried to avoid fighting.

Imagine how happy I am that Marchand is not like that at all. Great forechecker, always battling for the puck, and surprisingly good puckhandling skills. He gets under people’s skin not by playing over the edge but with persistence and strong plays. He’s chirpy but not stupid, and doesn’t take dumb penalties, but he’s good at drawing them. And with Campbell he’s probably one of the most consistent players on the team so far. Great, great addition to the club this year.

Great goal by Marchand tonight. He is playing well as is fun to watch. That said, I would like to see him play a little safer in the offensive end, Im noticing he has made a few bad passes around the blue line the last few games. Nothing has cost the B’s a goal yet, but those kind of mistakes will eventually. I hope the coaching staff has noticed this and will work with him(and Seguin). I believe this kid is very coachable and can clean this aspect of his game up. Marchand has a couple of huge goals for the team this year, including tonight.